A comparison of Star Trek bridge designs, complete with 3d renders.
February 9, 2011
February 8, 2011
Experimental Observations
I feel like a little Tesla or Franklin. Next up will be the kite and key in a thunderstorm. Apologies for posting these ramblings here, and please feel free to skip them, but I wanted to write down a few observations I made tonight. Writing it down helps me clarify what I learn.
1. My DC power transformer isn’t broken after all (I briefly thought it was). There’s a 220/110 switch on the back that changes its output. It’s still sucky, though. If you set it for 6 volts it delivers 9. Set it for 12 volts and it gives you 10. Yuck. Anyway, I realized something important about it: it operates as a capacitor. I had it set for 20v and had my test probes plugged into the power leads on the breadboard reading the voltage from the power plug. 20v. No load or circuit. When I unplugged the power supply from the wall, the multimeter read… 20v. And kept reading that! It was weird. I put in a 100k resistor and a sacrificial LED to see if I could discharge the thing. No luck- 100K was too high of a resistance to trigger the white LED’s threshold voltage. So I put in a 680 Ohm and the LED burned REALLY bright for a second and then dimmed. Didn’t burn out (too little juice left in the power supply?), but upon reasoning it out I realized that after I had unplugged the power supply the voltage had nowhere to go. So it stayed in the power supply/breadboard connections to be measured by my multimeter and ultimately discharged when I put the 680 ohm resistor and LED in the circuit. My only question is this: why didn’t the multimeter slowly drain the voltage like the LED/Resistor circuit did? How is the measuring of voltage a “hands-off” affair for the MM where current means the MM gets involved? I guess I don’t understand how the MM can “see” voltage without becoming part of the system it’s measuring.
2. My other observation is that after I discharged the power supply of its voltage and then disconnected the resistor from the LED, I noticed that a very small voltage was slowly building back up on the multimeter again! Huh? I took off my slippers and rubbed my feet on the carpet while touching one wire on the resistor (still connected to the MM via the power taps on the breadboard) and sure enough I was able to slowly get the meter up to around 1 volt! Very cool! I could again discharge it if I reconnected the LED and resistor though I couldn’t get the LED to light. Not enough current. However, after I discharged the voltage and sat back, the small voltage was building up again by itself. So here’s question #2: if a voltage is simply an excess of positive (or negative) charges in one place compared to a relative dearth of negative (or positive) charges in another place, how is it that this happened naturally? I would think that, just sitting there, you wouldn’t get free electrons piling up on the already-negative side of the open circuit. It seems like any free electrons in the environment would be attracted to the positive side of the circuit and would cancel out any growing negative excess (and vice-versa for free protons flying around). Like charges repel, right? So how was it that I saw my voltage meter slowly spiraling up? It kept going to almost 1/2 volt and would have continued. It was weird.
So that’s where I am tonight. Fun stuff.
Space Race
Bill Whittle on America’s space program. This one’s not a political post. Instead, it’s a quick view of the health of America’s private space program. I just love his enthusiasm when he talks about space. You can tell the guy is ready to go.
Hardcore History
Just finished listening to part 1 of 4 of Dan Carlin’s Ghosts of the Ostfront. Wow. Even if you’re not a history buff (I’m not), it’s riveting, stellar podcasting. I’m going to throw him some paypal love so he keeps this stuff up. Highly recommended.
Mr. Mysterious
Why doesn’t Rolf Potts smile? One of life’s great mysteries. (Don’t make me post my Eagle Lake red-long-john pictures, Rolf!)
Indulgent
Congress can pass statutes that apply to some businesses and not others, but once a law has passed — and therefore is binding — how can the executive branch relieve some Americans of their obligation to obey it?
The dangers of inequity are obvious. Will only corporations and unions get waivers, or can individuals also get them? For example, if a family physician feels financial pressure under the health-care law to fire one of his employees, will he get a waiver to avoid adding to unemployment?
Indeed, can even a small corporation get a waiver? Small businesses provide most new jobs, but the answer is obvious: Waivers are mostly, if not entirely, for politically significant businesses and unions that get the special attention of HHS or the White House. The rest of us must obey the laws….
…The power to dispense with the laws had no place in a constitution that divided the active power of government into executive and legislative powers. The dispensing power was not a power to make laws, nor even a power to repeal laws, but rather a power to relieve individuals of their obligation under a law that remained in effect. It thus was a power exercised not through and under the law, but above it.
Of course, after a violation of a statute, the executive could refrain from prosecuting the offender or even pardon him. Until the legislature changed the law, however, neither the legislature nor the executive could simply tell a favored person that he was not bound by it.
A fascinating article about whether or not health care waivers are constitutional. Lots of interesting history and precedent. It seems like a pretty clear argument to me against allowing waivers.
February 7, 2011
Particle Man
Each January I choose one Maker skill and focus on giving myself an education in that area. My informal goal is to get enough of a knowledge base in that particular skill for it to become useful in my everyday life. Last year was fiberglassing. Why? No idea- it just seemed cool and I didn’t know how to do it. Turns out it was really easy, though very messy and smelly. Surprisingly, I actually got paid to make a giant fiberglass clamshell for the show I write. In the past I’ve picked woodworking (which has turned into a lifelong passion) as well as RTV casting and mold making. This year I decided to finally tackle the one subject that I’ve never been able to wrap my head around: electricity and electronics. This is an area that I’ve attempted to tackle many times, but it’s been my Waterloo at each attempt. This time is a little different: it’s definitely been the hardest skill to pick up, but I’m actually gaining a small foothold. It helps to have friends who are electrical engineers, though sometimes I realize that they weren’t trained as educators. Still, I’m grateful for their knowledge.
I initially chose programming as a complimentary skill this year, and I mean to keep up with that, but I think the electronics thing has been keeping my brain sufficiently occupied that I might put the programming on the back burner until next January. We’ll see. Either way, picking a skill and giving myself permission to learn about it for a whole year is an entertaining way to continue my self education. It’s fun, too. I can pick stuff that interests me, unlike when you’re in school and you have to memorize and read about stuff you couldn’t care less about (I’m looking at you, French diction. “ahh as in gorge” indeed).
So as part of the electronics education Erin bought me the Make:Electronics book. I’m up to experiment 11 and I’m having a blast. Well, a slow-motion blast. It’s taken 6 weeks to get 80 pages into the book. Like I said, I’m particularly dense about this whole electricity thing, but I am determined that this time it will finally stick. I’m slowly filling up a set of flashcards so I can test myself on components, definitions, and even equations. Tonight was NPN Transistor theory. Sounds dry, but it was actually neat stuff that’s explained in a very easy to understand way. Charles Platt’s book is extrememly hands-on and you get to play with lots of little components that come with the various Make:Electronics packs (Erin got me Pack 1 for Christmas, I’m getting Pack 2 for myself when it comes out in mid-February). The book is designed to teach theory via small experiments that build on each other. From building an alarm, making LED’s light, blowing up components on purpose (really!) to eventually soldering IC chips and doing digital logic, it’s a totally effective and fun way to learn. Several times I’ve read through an experiment and thought “oh, I get it”, but then I make myself go ahead and wire the thing up and the light (literal and metaphorical) really comes on. I’ll invariably learn something by actually wiring up components that I wouldn’t have learned just by reading. For someone who learns almost totally through his hands (lecture-style courses are terrible for me), it’s been just the thing I needed.
I went to Half Price Books today and bought a copy of DC Electronics by N.S. Raghava, and Basic Electricity: A Self Teaching Guide by Charles W. Ryan. Since I couldn’t decide and had a 15% coupon I went ahead and bought them both. They look like good books that teach electricity through slightly different tacks. I’m hoping that the different approaches will finally break the cognitive logjam I’ve always had in this area. Thank goodness for Half Price Books!
February 6, 2011
Superbowl
So if you see the Budweiser ad in the superbowl today with a bartender, that bartender is none other than good guy Andy Sensenig, who plays bad guy David Sawyer in Paradise Recovered. Good job on the gig, Andy!
February 4, 2011
WorkSharp
I’ve been trying to get a solution to sharpen my various shop tools (gouges, chisels, planes, etc) for several years. There are tons of gizmos on the market that seem specifically designed to separate gullible woodworkers from their dollars. I’ve spent my share of money on some of them, and none of them ever really worked. The result was that I usually operate with sub-par tools; a condition that is not only annoying, but potentially dangerous as well.
WorkSharp has a nifty gizmo, er tool, that a lot of people swear by- the WorkSharp 3000. Unfortunately, it’s around $200 street price, and I didn’t really want to spend that much. However, a few weeks ago some of the folks on a woodworking list that I frequent posted that Home Depot was blowing them out for $60. I quickly jumped on line and ordered one. A few days later, all of us eager beavers got notice that the item had been mismarked (a $140 rebate on a $200 product? You don’t say!). After enough woodworkers raised a fuss, Home Depot decided to honor their original price and reinstated our orders. Yay! So yesterday my brand new WorkSharp 3000 was dropped off by UPS. Looks neat. I just finished watching the included DVD video and I think this thing will finally keep my tools sharp with a minimum of fuss.
The only downside to the whole thing is that one of the small plastic bolt-down feet has a small piece missing, and the rubber foot wasn’t included. I’ll call the company on Monday to see if they’ll replace the broken parts. The thing will work just fine without them, though, so I’m loathe to make too much of a fuss, especially in light of the fact that I got such a good deal.
People often remark at my tool collection and think that I must have spent a fortune on my shop. Here’s the secret: I’m pretty patient and generally buy tools when I can get a really, really good deal. Craigslist is my friend, too. A few years ago I bought a top-of-the-line Dewalt Scroll saw, normally $650, for $250. Brand new. Score! My whole shop has been more or less bought for about that much of a discount. Over time I’ve spent far, far less than you might expect, and I’ve earned some money with it, too! I think it’s about break-even at this point, and gives me a whole lot of enjoyment.
Anyway: new tool. Always a good thing. Better thing: more space. Can I get that at a discount?
February 3, 2011
Universities on the Brink
Just 10 years ago the cost of a four-year public college education amounted to 18% of the annual income of middle-income families. Ten years later, it amounted to 25% of that family’s average annual income. The cost of attending a private university is about double the cost of public universities. Think of higher education as the proverbial frog in boiling water. It feels very warm and comfy but soon will be cooked.
February 2, 2011
The Skin Gun
Yeah, sorry about that graphic image, but YouTube picked it.
This is the single most mind-blowing thing I have seen in a long, long time. It’s not a future technology for a far-off someday. It’s here now. Absolutely incredible. *Warning- video is a bit graphic*
Kim
My long time friend Kim Masterson passed away suddenly a few days ago. It’s been a real shock. She was recovering from breast cancer and we thought that everything was going to be okay, but evidently the cancer staged a comeback and took her suddenly. Her high school friends have rallied around each other on FB with thoughts and memories of her that make us all smile.
I’ve known Kim since 6th grade at Haggard Middle School in Plano. We were in classes together throughout Vines high school and then into Plano Sr. High. We were in Music Corp together, and even spent some time at Baylor University. We lost touch for a bit after she left to go to school in Dallas, but reconnected on Facebook a while back. Kim had three wonderful kids that she doted on. You could tell how much she loved them from her proud pictures and funny status updates. Not even the cancer could keep her from raising them, and from all indications, raising them well.
Kim was a wonderful, kind, gentle person and I’ll miss her terribly. The knowledge that she’s gone is a hard thing. Goodbye Kim. You were loved.
She’d yell at me for posting this pic if I didn’t note that the hair and picture are both from the 80′s. 
Andrew Sensenig
My friend Andrew Sensenig has a new dramatic reel up over at IMDB, including 2 clips from Paradise Recovered! Not sure why the audio in the Paradise clips is slightly muted (it’s definitely not on this end), but it’s cool to see our work up next to some big names. Go Andrew!
February 1, 2011
Quoth
The most melancholy of human reflections, perhaps, is that, on the whole, it is a question whether the benevolence of mankind does most good or harm. Great good, no doubt, philanthropy does, but then it also does great evil. It augments so much vice, it multiplies so much suffering, it brings to life such great populations to suffer and to be vicious, that it is open to argument whether it be or be not an evil to the world, and this is entirely because excellent people fancy they can do much by rapid action—that they will most benefit the world when they most relieve their own feelings.
—Walter Bagehot
As a Christian I’m not sure how I feel about this quote, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless.
Roofers
Argh. We had a big wind storm last night that kept us up from 3:30 until around 6. Thought it was going to shake the house down. This morning a couple of guys were working the neighborhood trying to get roofing business. We figured we’d let them have a look. We’ve had shingle damage before that’s been repaired (once by a company, once by me). Those repairs seem to have stuck; it’s the old shingles that are giving way. Anyway, the guy took a look and then pressed really hard to get the deductible from the insurance company and replace the whole roof even though we just needed a few shingles. They also put the scare of “coming wet weather” though there’s no indication of rain in the forecast (more wind, though). The company in question is Texas Hill Country Roofing. As of this morning they don’t have a webpage (well, it’s listed in “Maintenance mode”) and seems to have been designed by a German student. That’s not necessarily a bad thing- students can do good work- but it doesn’t inspire confidence. Another red flag is that they have no presence on Yelp, the BBB, or any other consumer forum.
Hmm…no active website, no presence on Yelp, pushed hard for a commitment to pay the deductible and get the whole roof replaced, used scare tactics to get a commitment. Definitely not the kind of company I’d like to work with.
I’m not saying they’re scammers, but they did raise enough red flags to warn me off. I asked for an estimate just to replace the section of shingles that was missing. The estimate was $600, “but if you claim insurance you can get the entire roof replaced for your deductible” ($500). No thanks.
They may very well be on the up-and-up, but I don’t want to work with anyone that comes across like this. Yuck.